Brown: By-election win shows voters trust me to tackle crisis

GORDON Brown today hailed Labour's triumph in the Glenrothes by-election as a public endorsement for his leadership on the economy.

The Prime Minister headed to Brussels to ram home his recession-fighting message after the personal satisfaction of defeating the Scottish National Party in his own backyard.

The Glenrothes victory, by a healthy majority of nearly 7,000, was seized on by Mr Brown as a vote of confidence in the Government's response to the global downturn and banking collapse.

Amid euphoria among Labour MPs, Mr Brown was keen to kill off speculation that he was considering a snap general election, stressing repeatedly that he was giving his "undivided attention and focus" to the economy.

Speaking in Downing Street before he left for an EU summit, Mr Brown said: "What I have learned from this by-election is that people are prepared to support governments that will help people through the downturn."

In a clear dig at both the SNP and the Tories, who lost their deposit, he said: "They are less willing to support people who have no idea about how to solve the problems we have got."

Number 10 sources revealed that even Mr Brown had gone to bed last night "fearing an SNP victory", although a high turnout gave Labour hope that they could clinch the seat.

Labour claimed that the result was the first time that an incumbent Labour government had increased its share of the vote in a by-election since the Second World War. The Prime Minister also hinted that tax cuts could form the next part of his anti-recession package in the Chancellor's pre-Budget report this month. He pointed to tax cuts for the low-paid in the 10p band and freezes in fuel duty and said a rise in borrowing was sensible to combat recession.

"We will take the necessary action in monetary policy on interest rates, and in the action we've taken on taxes and spending, to ensure that we can come through this downturn. All the decisions we are taking are to be fair to hard-working people. In other downturns, hardworking families on lower and middle-incomes have not had the support that we are now prepared to give," Mr Brown said.

A clearly dejected SNP leader Alex Salmond admitted that the Labour victory had been a "considerable" win.

Party sources said the by-election campaign, which combined aggressive attacks on SNP cuts with appearances by Mr Brown and his wife Sarah on the stump, was a model of how Labour could win the next election. Central to the victory was the Prime Minister's repeated message that only he had the experience and judgment to lead the country out of recession.

Labour candidate Lindsay Roy secured a majority of 6,737; the SNP came second. Although the margin was down a third on the 10,000 majority at the 2005 general election, Labour increased its share of the vote.

The win ended a series of by-election defeats for Mr Brown and removed any lingering doubts about a leadership challenge. Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy today said Mr Brown's decision to break with convention to campaign twice in the seat, as well as Mrs Brown's seven trips to the constituency, had been vindicated.

"We had two Browns campaigning in the constituency and we had a remarkable victory," Mr Murphy told GMTV.

Tory leader David Cameron played down the significance of the result for England, but stressed he was pleased that the SNP had been defeated.